The interaction of home environment features and their relation to infant competence

Abstract

This investigation examined the relation between features of the home environment (HOME Scale) and domains of development (Griffiths Scales) in 6‐month‐olds. The sample consisted of 155 families with diverse demographic characteristics who were part of a larger study. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. More favorable eye‐hand development was associated with more availability of appropriate play materials. The interaction of appropriate play materials and maternal involvement was related to both social and hearing‐speech development. For the infants who had high exposure to appropriate play materials, social and hearing‐speech development was more optimal if their mothers were highly involved with them. The analyses were conducted separately for low (n = 87) and middlelhigh (n = 55) socioeconomic status groups from the sample. Partial replication of the interaction effect was present for the middle/high group, but not for the low group. Findings support the importance of examining interaction as well as additive effects of the impact of early environment for relatively large samples in which there is a diversity of experiences.

Disparities in early learning and development: Lessons from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)

“…13 Finally, a study conducted in a large metropolitan area in the United States found differences in 6-month-old infants' overall development scores between infants from middle/high income households and those in low-income households. 12 Thus, while many other studies have noted sociodemographic disparities by 24 months of age, few have documented it within the first year of life, and this study is one of the first to do so using a nationally-representative sample of contemporary infants in the United States. It should be kept in mind that this is a descriptive report of social indicators of well-being among a national cohort of infants, and as such, bivariate analyses were conducted.…”

“…10,11 However, a few previous studies conducted in the United States and elsewhere have found sociodemographic disparities in development within the first year of life. [12][13][14] For example, a recent study conducted with over 1,000 infants born in the Nord-Trondelag County in Norway between August 1990 and July 1991 found that "double risk" signified by a combination of biological and sociodemographic risk factors when children were 7 months of age correlated highly with developmental problems at age 4. 14 Another study conducted in Montreal found that infants in high-and moderate-risk groups (based on mother's marital status, age, and income) had lower mental scores on the Bayley than low-risk infants.…”

Cognitive and Socioemotional Caregiving in Developing Countries

“…Country-level HDI factors related to many caregiving activities. Despite considerable diversity among parents in low-SES families, research points to developmental disparities based on sociodemographic risk status even within the first 2 years of life (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; Parks & Bradley, 1991; Rostad, Nyberg, & Sivberg, 2008). For example, Halle et al (2009) identified significant disparities in cognitive and socioemotional development as early as 9 months of age in a nationally representative U.S. sample based on low income and low maternal education.…”

The Impact of Background Television on Parent–Child Interaction

“…Notably, both types of interactions elicited longer and more mature play episodes than the absence of interaction. Others have found an association between the quality of maternal involvement and children’s concurrent play maturity (Alessandri, 1992) and subsequent social and language development (Parks & Bradley, 1991). Equally important is parents’ sensitivity to their children’s needs and activities.…”